Munch goes to Morning Glory Coffeehouse

 
05/02/2009 06:02:52 – Post-Gazette NOW
The Steelers brought back another Lombardi Trophy and all Munch got was five pounds of snacks.

Munch munched through the whole thing. Meatballs, stromboli, little skewers of fruit, pulled pork, wings and that was just before kickoff.

A Super Bowl Hostess of Munch said she had read that the Super Bowl is the second biggest eating day of the year for Americans. That would only be if you love turkey. Whereas on Thanksgiving, we eat and then nap, during the Super Bowl we just eat, yell at the TV and eat some more.

Morning Glory Coffeehouse is at 1806 Chislett St., Morningside. 412-450-1050 or online at www.moglocoffee.com.
And so, with a full Super Bowl food hangover and a desperate need of coffee and calm, Munch spent an early morning this week at Morning Glory Coffeehouse, a very cool new coffeehouse in Morningside. Sipping a double latte ($3.25) and eating a blueberry scone ($2).

Morning Glory Coffeehouse is the type of place where, if Munch was a person with some real time on Munch”s hands, Munch could practically live. It”s a good mix of old and new.

There are vintage books available for loan, such as a copy of Kurt Vonnegut”s “Breakfast of Champions” of the same vintage as the record albums, yes, record albums, that are in crates ready to be played on the turntable. And believe Munch, in a coffeehouse, a turntable is really as high a fidelity as you need. It is a place, after all, where music is mixed with the noise of the street when the front door opens and with the sounds of milk being steamed for Munch”s latte.

And about that latte. How pretty was that? Munch just loves it when the foam is lightly swirled with the espresso to give it that brown and white design, and Jeffrey, who opened this place in 2008, did just that. Morning Glory Coffeehouse is also sure to note, in a window sign and on little table signs, that the coffee beans used for that latte are organic, fair trade and shade-grown, so it”s sustainable, both for the environment and for the people growing it in that environment.

The coffee is a nice strong blend, with a tint of an acidic taste to it, but not offensively so. Drinking a latte there isn”t some soft foamy concoction.

The coffeehouse has a couple of gnomes in the window who set the tone for the place. It”s comfortable, with a couple of couches, a foosball table, really fast wi-fi — thanks to a FIOS internet connection — and wooden French cafe chairs and tables.

Art for sale lines the walls. The current show of geometric works on paper with markers is hung simply using string and binder clips. There are openings for the art shows, film nights and even live music some evenings.

The menu also has hot chocolate, for those not really into morning coffee, like the elementary school children who joined us thanks to a two-hour delay for the post Super Bowl.

The morning fare — an apple danish, blueberry danish and a scone — were all nice and fresh (and each $2), though the apple was Munch”s favorite for no good reason other than it wasn”t what Munch ordered.

In all, Munch was pleased with the whole experience, particularly the fact that there was mostly quiet on a morning when Munch”s head could use a lot of it.

First published on February 5, 2009 at 12:00 am